Foreign media on Kazakhstan: Secretary Rubio’s Meeting with Kazakh Foreign Minister Tileuberdi; Kazakhstan joins race to host UEFA Futsal Euro 2030

U.S. Department of State: Secretary Rubio’s Meeting with Kazakhstan Foreign Minister Tileuberdi

According to the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, to discuss strengthening the U.S.-Kazakhstan Enhanced Strategic Partnership ahead of the G20 summit in December.

Rubio thanked Kazakhstan for supporting President Donald Trump’s peace initiatives and reaffirmed Washington’s interest in expanding economic cooperation in ICT infrastructure, energy security and natural resources.

He also welcomed Kazakhstan’s commitment to join the Abraham Accords and highlighted the importance of bilateral security cooperation and the C5+1 diplomatic platform in promoting regional connectivity, resilience and prosperity in Central Asia.

Euronews: This country aims to attract €18B in cleaner energy investment

Kazakhstan aims to attract around €18 billion in investment through its Just Energy Transition platform, QaJET, supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Euronews reports.

The initiative, set for an official launch at COP31 in Türkiye, targets 10 GW of new renewable energy capacity by 2035, alongside electricity grid upgrades, industrial electrification and workforce retraining.

Around €8.7 billion will support renewable energy projects, while the remaining funding will focus on modernising energy infrastructure and expanding clean electricity use.

Projects already in development include the 1 GW Mirny wind farm in Zhambyl region and electricity network upgrades in Almaty.

“We are a carbon-dependent country, with large combined heat and power plants and power stations. These facilities and the energy networks need to be modernised,” said Saule Sabieva, Climate Policy Director at Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources.

QaJET supports Kazakhstan’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

CoinDesk: Kazakhstan court bars Coinbase, five others from unlicensed crypto services in Astana International Financial Centre

Kazakhstan’s Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) has secured court injunctions against six cryptocurrency platforms operating without authorization in the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), CoinDesk reports.

The restrictions affect Coinbase, BingX, Bitcoin.com, Huobi Global (HTX), BitMart and WEEX, prohibiting them from offering or marketing unlicensed digital asset services within the financial centre.

In a September 15 judgment, Justice Sir Stephen Richards clarified that the restrictions apply only to the AIFC and users located there, rather than constituting a nationwide ban.

The orders also involve Apple and Google as app-store operators, although the court declined to issue separate injunctions against them.

Another platform, LBank, was removed from the proceedings after addressing regulatory concerns.

AFSA said its enforcement campaign began in 2025 with warnings to more than 20 cryptocurrency platforms, followed by legal proceedings in early 2026.

The Times of Central Asia: Kazakhstan joins race to host UEFA Futsal Euro 2030

Kazakhstan is among record seven countries interested in hosting UEFA Futsal Euro 2030, potentially bringing the senior European championship to Central Asia for the first time, The Times of Central Asia reports.

According to UEFA, the other prospective hosts are Croatia, Finland, France, Georgia, Poland and Spain. Final bids are due by June 8, 2027, with the host to be selected in September.

Kazakhstan has previously hosted major European club futsal competitions in Almaty in 2011, 2017 and 2019. Astana is also scheduled to host the UEFA European Under-19 Futsal Championship in 2027.

Kazakhstan’s national team won bronze at Euro 2016 and reached the semifinals in 2018.

Euronews: Roaming roots: Artist Gulnur Mukazhanova explores her nomadic heritage at Frieze London

Kazakh-born, Berlin-based artist Gulnur Mukazhanova presented her textile installation Bosağa: Journeys Across Cultures and Time at Frieze London 2026, in collaboration with Turkish Airlines, Euronews reports.

The exhibition featured a triptych from her ongoing Bosağa series, launched in 2021. The title means “threshold” in Kazakh and other Turkic languages, symbolizing transitions between places and cultures.

Mukazhanova combines traditional felt, deeply rooted in Central Asian nomadic heritage, with colorful fabrics collected during her travels across Asia.

Her work draws inspiration from traditional Kazakh embroidered wall hangings known as tuskiiz, as well as historic carpets transported along the Silk Road, connecting Central Asian craftsmanship with European artistic traditions.

You can read last week’s digest here.